Süleyman the magnificently polemical

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News, Sunday, January 9, 2011

A new TV soap has generated a massive reaction from conservative circles in Turkey, with claims that the Ottoman dynasty is portrayed in the show as both “indecent” and “hedonistic.”

The soap, titled “Muhteşem Yüzyıl” (The Magnificent Century), is based on events that occurred during the reign of Süleyman I, also known as Suleyman the Magnificent.

Surviving heirs of the Ottoman dynasty and members of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, are among critics of the show.

Reactions started to flow in following the broadcast of the trailer, even before the first episode was aired on Jan. 5.

The Supreme Board of Radio and Television, or RTÜK, is reported to have received thousands of complaints, most of which focus on the Sultan’s alcohol consumption and activities in the harem with his concubines.

After the first episode was aired more criticism followed, with a number of people complaining the women were dressed in too western a style, and that some historical events were retold inaccurately.

Rumor has spread that a gay scene has been written into the script, which the producers of the show deny.

The first line of defense for the production team behind “Muhteşem Yüzyıl” is the soap is a work of fiction based on real events, rather than a documentary of historical facts. Both Tims Productions and scriptwriter Meral Okay said criticism of the show was unfair.

“This is not a documentary for schoolchildren,” Okay said, adding that the Ottoman sultans had a harem and families. “They did not reproduce through pollination.”

The first stone to be thrown by a politician came from Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç. “Those who try to humiliate the important people of our history by portraying them inaccurately should face retribution. What is necessary will be done,” he said.

“The 600 years of Ottoman history was not built on the harem,” said Parliamentary Group Deputy Head of AKP Suat Kılıç.

Several nongovernmental organizations and the Great Union Party, or BBP, have also reacted negatively to the soap, arguing that it represents an attempt to malign the Ottomans.

Protests against the show were held in several locations throughout Turkey over the last few days, with more taking place in Istanbul on Sunday.

Alperen Ocakları, an organization related to the BBP, gathered in front of the mausoleum of Süleyman I at Süleymaniye Mosque, located on Istanbul’s historical peninsula, to read passages from the Quran and a press statement decrying the soap, calling it “separatist.”

A group of approximately 60 people blocked traffic on Istanbul’s D-100 Highway for 10 minutes with banners featuring slogans such as: “We were not divided for 1,000 years, you cannot divide us,” and “One flag, one state, all Muslims are brothers.”

A third group, the youth branch of the Felicity Party, or SP, and members of a group called Anatolian Youth Foundation gathered in front of the building of the TV station broadcasting the soap and blamed the managers for “portraying their ancestors as lustful people in harem rooms” and egged the building. The Anatolian Youth Federation made the news recently by stabbing a Santa Claus doll in protest of the New Year’s celebrations. The police were present in all of the protests but did not interfere with any of the three groups and all disbanded without incident.